Unexpected Visitor (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Steve and Catherine get an unexpected visitor on a lazy Saturday afternoon.


_Mari & Ilna-you guys are the absolute best! Thank you for everything! _

_REAL Worlders-you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the support and encouragement._

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**Unexpected Visitor (1/1)**

Catherine returned from the garage after throwing in a load of laundry and smiled at the sight she saw in the middle of the living room floor. Steve was lying flat on his back, perfectly still, while Angie constructed a tower of blocks on his stomach. When the top block tumbled off, Cammie happily retrieved it and returned it to her favorite tiny human. When she did, she was rewarded with a giggle and a hug.

Catherine smiled. "Looks like you three are having fun."

"Mama see." Angie clapped as she added another block to the tower and it remained in place.

"I see." Catherine crossed the room and knelt next to her daughter. "This is where Daddy's flat tummy and ability to slow down his breathing comes in handy." She grinned.

Before Steve could reply the sound of the doorbell filled the air.

"You expecting someone?" he asked.

She shook her head and headed for the front door. When she opened it, she saw a woman who looked to be about her own age, well dressed, long brown hair tied up in a neat bun, a leather tote slung over one shoulder and a manila folder clutched in her left hand. "Can I help you?"

"Lieutenant Rollins?" the woman asked.

Catherine nodded. "Yes."

"Hi." The woman held out her right hand. "I'm Estella Longo. I'm with the Department of Children's Services. I'm your adoption caseworker."

"Hello." Catherine was taken aback by the unexpected visitor, but she recovered quickly. As she shook Estella's hand she said, "Please come in."

She stepped back to allow the woman to enter.

"This is my husband, Steve McGarrett and our daughter Angie."

Estella waved at the toddler who was eyeing her with interest. "Well hello, Angie. Looks like you've got quite a project going there."

"Daddy. Bwocks. Taaaw."

Steve carefully dislodged the block tower and stood. He crossed to the door and shook Estella's hand.

"Nice to meet you," she said. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's my policy to do the first home visit unannounced. I hope this isn't a bad time."

"No, it's fine." Catherine said as she and Steve shared a slightly nervous glance. "Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

Estella took a seat on the couch. Catherine sat in the armchair opposite her with Steve perched on the arm holding Angie who continued eyeing the new visitor curiously.

Catherine looked around at the mess of toys on the floor. "If we'd known you were coming, we might have tried not to have every block we own spread all over the living room," she chuckled with just a hint of tension in her voice. She was by nature a confident person, comfortable in all sorts of situations, but the woman sitting in front of her was going to judge her fitness to be an adoptive mother and there was something about that reality she found slightly unnerving.

Estella smiled warmly. "It's fine. I actually love to see a lived-in house. It's one of the reasons I do my first visit unannounced."

Steve put his hand on her shoulder and Catherine relaxed slightly, placing her hand over his. When he squeezed lightly, she felt the tension subside somewhat.

They were ready for this.

She just didn't know they needed to be ready today.

"If they know I'm coming a lot of people can't help but try to show me what they think I want to see," Estella explained. "When what I actually want is to see the real people behind the application. This," she indicated the floor, "is nothing. My own house will look twice this messy when I get home tonight."

The woman's friendly smile and open demeanor helped put Steve and Catherine at ease.

She opened the manila folder she'd been carrying and placed it on the coffee table in front of her. "If you have a few minutes I'd like to go over some preliminary information with you as well as talk about what steps come next."

Steve kissed Angie's cheek. "Can you build a tower with Cammie while mommy and daddy talk to the nice lady?"

"Caa mee." Angie said in a sing-song voice as Steve placed her on the ground and she rejoined her faithful canine companion in the middle of the floor.

Estella smiled at the happy toddler then looked back at Steve and Catherine. "First, I'd like to say that I've been doing this for quite a few years and I've never had a set of background checks come back so quickly. Between your military clearances, and the extensive check done on both of you when the lieutenant joined the governor's staff, you cleared everything in record time."

"Good to know," Steve replied.

Estella scanned the pages in the file. "In fact, there was only one red flag that showed up."

Catherine tensed. "A red flag?"

Estella tried to suppress a smile. "Apparently there was some contact with authorities in Rota, Spain in 2003?"

Catherine and Steve both blushed beet red.

"We were on leave," Steve finally managed to squeak out. "We hadn't seen each other in months. We thought the little cottage we rented was private."

"We didn't … ummm…investigate that as thoroughly as we should have in the excitement of our reunion." Catherine picked up the story. "We didn't realize that by virtue of elevation the house next door had a perfect view of the cottage's back yard."

"I understand completely." Estella chuckled. "Normally I wouldn't even mention something that minor. I mean no charges were filed. But when two background checks come back this clean, with a long list of commendations and handwritten notes of recommendation, unprompted I might add, from former co-workers and superior officers, well I have to say the whole Spain thing just tickled me."

"I assure you it's not the kind of behavior we usually indulge in," Steve said. "We're much more careful and respectful of other people."

"That is very clear from everything I've read." Estella closed the folder. "You passed the background checks with flying colors."

"That's great." Catherine took a deep breath. "So, what's next?"

"Well, usually this is where I pull out your application and go over all of the documents you need that didn't get submitted with your initial filing." Estella extracted a much thicker folder from her leather tote. "Most people need some time to come up with detailed health records or financial records but …" She looked up, something akin to amazement on her features, "This is another first. You submitted every single requested document the first time around. I'm extremely impressed."

"That's all Catherine," Steve said proudly. "She's incredibly organized."

"I'll say," Estella agreed. "I think it would take me months to lay my hands on," she reached into the folder and pulled out two sheets of paper, "my and my husband's vaccination records and initial physicals from when we entered college."

Catherine smiled. "The form did say _complete_ medical history."

"It did indeed," Estella nodded. "It looks like we have everything we need right now. We may ask for a few more documents going forward but I'm confident if we do, you'll produce them almost immediately."

"We'll do our best." Catherine's initial nervousness had now vanished completely, replaced with a feeling of excitement. She knew a good relationship with the caseworker would be important as they moved through the process and she felt as though Estella was someone both she and Steve could easily work with. She stole a look at him and knew immediately by his sparkling eyes he felt the same way.

"It says on your application that you're open to any possibility but are thinking of adding an older child to the family?"

Steve and Catherine nodded.

"You understand there are extra complications that come with that when you've already got a younger child, right?"

"We do," Steve said.

"Our brother-in-law was adopted into a family as the older sibling," Catherine said. "He and his sister are very close."

"Both of his parents are therapists," Steve said. "They've offered to sit down and talk to us about all the special challenges with bringing an older sibling into the family."

Estella nodded. "Excellent. I like to see potential adoptive parents seeking advice and maximizing their resources to help facilitate a successful integration of the new family unit. And speaking of family unit, I see your parents and grandmother live on the island."

Catherine smiled. "Yes, they relocated here from the mainland after Angie was born."

"I'd like to meet with them at some point. Nothing formal. I just like to get to know as many potential family members as I can."

"I'm sure they'd be happy to meet with you," Steve said. "Trust me. You're gonna love them. They're amazing people."

"I look forward to it." Estella consulted her list. "I'll be making appointments to interview your personal references over the next few weeks. I think I also saw that you have a nanny?"

"Esther," Catherine nodded enthusiastically. "Angie loves her."

"She's with Angie three days a week?"

"Usually," Catherine replied. "Sometimes more if things are especially hectic. I take Angie to work with me whenever I can. She has her own space where she can play and nap. My assistant loves her."

"As do quite a few senators and local dignitaries," Estella chuckled. "I do a social media search as part of my basic background. Seems like a picture holding your daughter is a must have for the local political movers and shakers."

"We're very careful about limiting what gets posted," Steve said. "We only allow a limited number of pictures and only on special occasions."

"Social media is a reality of modern-day life," Estella said. "From what I saw you do a good job of keeping it under control. I'll be meeting with Esther at some point. Also, I'd like to stop by your office, Catherine, and see the set-up you have for when Angie goes to work with you."

"Anytime."

"I'll also be seeking an interview with both of your bosses which in this case seem to be the same person. The governor of Hawaii. That'll be new for me."

Catherine and Steve smiled.

"So, now that we have all that out of the way, I'd like a quick tour of your home if that's possible and then I'll get out of your hair and let you get back to your weekend." Estella smiled warmly.

Steve returned her smile. "No, problem at all."

When Catherine stood the movement immediately drew Angie's attention. She scrambled to her feet and toddled across the room. "Mama up."

Catherine picked her up and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for being a very good girl while mommy and daddy talked to Mrs. Longo."

Angie clapped. "Ong ooo."

Estella smiled.

"This is obviously the living room," Steve said. "I grew up in this house. Well mostly. It's been in my family for many years."

Estella took note of the various baby gates, corner protectors, outlet covers and well-secured cords. "It looks like you've done everything right when it comes to childproofing."

"I look at it as an ongoing process." Steve looked around the room. "As Angie grows and becomes more mobile, I'm constantly reassessing. Adding new safety measures as needed."

"That's wonderful." Estella made a note on her pad. "I wish all parents were as conscientious."

They made their into the dining room, then down the hall to the playroom.

"Wow." Estella gaped at the activity wall and the shelves overflowing with books.

"We read up a lot on ways to stimulate a child's learning and keep them engaged during playtime," Catherine said. "Then Steve, Angie's godfather and her grandfather took all that info and went a little overboard."

"It's amazing. I'd love one of these in my own house." Estella looked around. "Seems like all you're missing is a climbing wall."

"I had plans for one right over here," Steve pointed to the corner proudly, "But then we agreed that's an outdoor thing," he said sheepishly. "And that we should wait awhile for that."

"Angie's a climber though so it probably won't be long until she gets one," Catherine chuckled. "She's fearless, so we may have to put a foam pit like they have at toddler tumbling underneath it because there's no doubt she'll be trying to get to the top."

Steve nodded. "I'll be installing safety harnesses for sure."

They left the playroom and made their way past the bathroom and into the kitchen.

"We did the remodeling in here ourselves," Catherine said proudly.

"It looks great," Estella replied. "I love the backsplash."

Catherine smiled. "Me too."

They headed out to the deck but not before Steve pointed out the newly installed alarm that sounded when the back door was opened. It could be deactivated by any adult leaving the house with the simple push of a button at eye level. But if Angie somehow managed to get the door open the alarm would sound immediately. There was now a similar alarm on the gate at the far end of the deck.

"And if for any reason those two things fail, we have our four-legged alarm," Steve beamed. "Cammie won't allow Angie to get anywhere near the water unless she has an adult with her. Isn't that right, girl?" Steve scratched the alert dog's ears. "She takes her job as Angie's guardian very seriously."

"Has she been through training?" Estella asked. It was a standard question where there was a large dog present in the house.

"Top of her class," Steve said proudly. "Plus, we work with her a minimum of 15 minutes a day to make sure her skills stay sharp. She also gets plenty of exercise every day and regular vet visits. In top of all that we make sure she has her own private space where she can get away for a few minutes of peace and quiet if she needs to."

"Seems like you're right on top of things." Estella made a few more notes. "Which is not surprising at all."

They navigated more gates on their way upstairs where they made a quick stop in the master suite before moving on to Angie's room, the guest room and the hall bathroom.

"We've decided to do an addition to add a few extra bedrooms," Catherine said. "We plan on having the work mostly completed by fall."

"We want to add a main floor guest room to accommodate my aunt, who's getting older, and any other guests we might have who will be more comfortable not dealing with the stairs," Steve said. "Besides that, it'll give Catherine's grandmother a convenient place to lie down if she needs to when she's here."

Catherine smiled. "We have a lot of family and friends and we want to make sure we have plenty of room, so everyone feels comfortable visiting whenever they want."

"That's very nice." Estella took a minute to soak in the genuinely welcoming feeling that engulfed the entire house. "I like to hear things like that."

"We're going to reconfigure things a bit up here," Steve said. "Add at least two more bedrooms which would give any child we adopt their own room and still leave at least one more guest room."

"You two really seem to have your ducks in a row," Estella said. "I think working with you through this process is going to be a pleasure."

"Thanks." Catherine beamed. "We both love being parents. We're very excited about expanding our family."

Estella looked at them with a look of utter sincerity. "It's going to be my pleasure to help you reach that goal."

**THE END**

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